Storytel reported third quarter results on Friday, with continued strong growth, including an increase of 19 percent in streaming sales and 27 percent in their subscriber base. But full year projections are now at the lower end of the revised guidance given last quarter, sending shares down 17 percent in a short trading day in Sweden. Streaming sales were 583 million SEK, compared to 490 million a year ago, and book publishing sales were 180 million, up 20 percent from 150 million a year ago. The streaming subscriber base was up 27 percent, to 1,724,000. Like many other publishers in […]
Audio
DeepZen Partners With Ingram on AI-Produced Audiobooks
UK AI start-up DeepZen has partnered with Ingram Content Group to provide AI-generated text-to-speech audiobooks. DeepZen explains in their release that they have licensed voices from voice actors and narrators, “capturing all of the elements of the human voice, such as pacing and intonation, and a wide range of emotions that produce more realistic speech patterns.” The AI uses those licensed voices for machine-created narration that features “seven different emotions.” The production process “combines AI technology with human editing” and takes approximately three weeks to produce an audiobook. Samples from their audiobooks are provided here. DeepZen ceo Taylan Kamis said, […]
Initiatives: Libro.fm for Business
Audiobook retailer Libro.fm has announced Libro.fm for Business, which allows companies to offer a “curated collection of audiobooks” to employees. In a release, Libro.fm said that they “work with companies to select audiobook options, including bookseller recommendations.” Businesses can offer gift memberships or specific audiobooks to employees, and, as with all Libro.fm downloads, up to 10 percent of the revenue will go to an indie bookstore chosen by the company. “Audiobooks are the fastest growing category in publishing and Libro.fm is uniquely positioned to offer thousands of audiobooks at scale to companies,” Libro.fm co-founder and ceo Mark Pearson said. As […]
Finance: EQT Invests in Storytel
The fast-growing Swedish audiobook streaming service Storytel received a boost from big Swedish-based private equity and investment firm EQT’s Private Value. In a press release issued Tuesday, the company revealed that EQT recently acquired 6.6 million shares in Storytel, close to 10 percent of shares outstanding. EQT Public Value’s Joakim Rubin has been nominated as a director of Storytel. Also making news is the nomination of board member Stefan Blom to take over as chair from longtime leader Rustan Panday. Blom was a c-suite executive at Spotify for seven years. Storytel shares rose over 8 percent on Tuesday on the […]
Acquisitions: Saga Egmont Adds German Publisher
Digital publisher Saga Egmont has acquired German audiobook publisher Audiobuch Verlag, making them the largest audiobook publisher in Germany.
Imprints: RBmedia Rebrands Business Titles
RBmedia will publish their business audiobooks under the new brand, Ascent Audio. The line is the successor to their Gildan Media brand (which they acquired in 2017). All of their business titles produced in partnership with other publishers will be issued under the Ascent Audio name, with the recently acquired McGraw Hill Professional business titles publishing under a joint McGraw Hill-Ascent brand.